Higher education is about money, also... Two reports from the UK
underline this. Yesterday, an analysis by the British Independent Commission
on Fees was published indicating that a drop of 15.000 university applicants could be
attributed to the tripling of tuition fees.
"Although it is too early to draw any firm conclusions, this
study provides initial evidence that increased fees have an impact
on application behaviour. There is a clear drop in application
numbers from English students when compared to their counterparts
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland," Panel chairman Will
Hutton commented.
Housing demand on the rise
Another report, however, sees fortunes rising in the
higher education sector. Real estate experts argue that "in spite
of higher tuition fees being introduced for 2012/13, the UK's
higher education system remains heavily oversubscribed, and the
development of new student housing has not kept pace with the
growth in student numbers."
This also explains why investments into student housing has more
than doubled this year, £800m in the first half of 2012 compared to
£375m the year before. According to CBRE these numbers are
"demonstrating the strength of the demand for this niche sector of
the real estate market."